🔆 NALANDA UNIVERSITY: A New Beginning 📍 Inauguration & Establishment ✅ The Prime Minister recently opened the new campus of Nalanda University near the ancient Nalanda ruins in Rajgir, Bihar. ✅ The university was created by the Indian Parliament through the Nalanda University Act, 2010. 📍 Ancient Nalanda University ✅ Founded by Emperor Kumaragupta I of the Gupta Empire in 427 CE near Rajagriha (now Rajgir). ✅ The earliest evidence: A coin with Shakraditya (Kumaragupta I), dating back to 415-455 CE. ✅ The university had connections with the Shailendra dynasty of Indonesia, who built a monastery there. ✅ Harshavardhana (606-647 CE), an important ruler, supported Nalanda. ✅ Xuanzang (also known as Hiuen Tsang), a famous Chinese scholar, studied at Nalanda for five years and brought back many scriptures. ✅ In 670 CE, I-Tsing, another Chinese traveler, described Nalanda as having 2,000 students from countries like China, Mongolia, Tibet, and Korea, supported by 200 villages. ✅ Nalanda’s influence weakened after the rise of other monasteries like Vikramshila and Somapura. ✅ The university ended when it was attacked by Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji in the 12th century, after more than 800 years. ✅ Rediscovered in 1812 by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton and confirmed as Nalanda University by Sir Alexander Cunningham in 1861. ✅ The site is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. #art_and_culture